Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Vermont Overrides Governor's Veto...:)

The Vermont Senate overrode Gov. Jim Douglas' veto by a vote of 23-5. This means gay marriage is about to pass in the 3rd New England state & now including Iowa only 46 states to go...:) Updates to Come...Check OUT LGBT leaders audio interviews: @ OUTTAKE VOICES™View Our Short Trailer on Gay Marriage

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The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), today applauds the Vermont legislature's decision for gay couples in that state. The Vermont Senate and the House of Representatives voted to override the veto issued by Governor Jim Douglas, thus legalizing marriages of gay and lesbian couples.

"Today's decision is an important step, and affirms the enduring commitment of so many gay and lesbian couples in Vermont," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "As people come to know the stories of the couples at the heart of these decisions, we are seeing the kind of culture change that creates this progress – progress that ensures that all people, regardless of their orientation, are protected equally under the law."

"GLAAD encourages media reporting on this story to include the stories of these Vermont couples whose love and commitment is at the center of today's vote," Giuliano added.

This is a week we all will remember: first Iowa, then Vermont, then D.C – all emphatically embracing equality, respect, and consistent treatment of all families under law. We have turned another critical corner in this equal rights movement.

A decade ago, Vermont opened an important back door when it created civil unions for same-sex couples. Now, after years of experience with that two-tier system, the Green Mountain State has decisively rejected the harms that come unavoidably with any class system and is inviting lesbian and gaycouples in through the front door of marriage, just as it does for their heterosexual relatives, neighbors and co-workers. We congratulate the courageous elected officials who voted to over-ride the Governor's veto and our tireless colleagues at Vermont Freedom to Marry for their years ofeducation and advocacy. We also congratulate our friends at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, whose victory in Baker v. Vermont made today’s success possible.

Just four days ago, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Lambda Legal's case that same-sex couples cannot be excluded from marriage. They learned the lessons of Vermont, Connecticut,California, New Jersey and other places where civil unions and domestic partnerships reduce some of the harms to same-sex couples, but also marginalize and humiliate them byrelegating them to second-class status. And today the District of Columbia Council acted on that lesson, too, by unanimously voting to recognize marriages of same-sex couples and moving closer to fairness.

Most Americans understand the degrading injuries of class systems. Our country always has been about a commitment to ending them. As Iowa, Vermont and the District of Columbia make crystal clear this week, understanding is dawning for more and more people that unequal treatment oflesbian and gay couples is just another caste system, and it is becoming increasingly obvious to people of good will that fairness, decency and the Golden Rule demand marriage equality for all.